We buy a lot from China, and they don’t buy much from us. Some call that “trade.” The result is that our jobs, factories, companies, industries and wealth are moving to China. One very big thing we can do about this right now is to confront China over their currency manipulation and the Senate passed a bill to do just that. The House leadership, under the control of lobbyists siding with China, refuses to allow the bill to come up for a vote. You can contact co-sponsors of the bill and ask them to sign a “discharge petition” that will make that vote happen.

Congress just passed three more NAFTA-like trade deals, so our country’s trade deficit is going to get even worse. And pressure on working people to accept pay and benefit cuts and longer and harder working hours is going to get even worse. And the rewards to the top 1%, at the expense of the rest of us, are going to get even greater. But we can still win the fight over China’s manipulation of its currency. If we win this it lessens the difference between prices of goods made there and goods made here and can bring some jobs, factories, countries, industries and wealth back to the 99% of our country that doesn’t benefit from these trade deals.
… China manipulates its currency to keep it “weak” (low) compared to the “strong” dollar. This means that goods made in China cost much less – up to 40% less – than goods made here, even before any wage differentials, exploitation of the environment, trade cheating, special subsidies and other trade violations are taken into account. China does this in order to capture the jobs, factories, companies and industries that make a country strong. We have let them do this for many years, leading to the economic situation we find ourselves in today.
One reason this continues is that big companies can threaten workers here with moving a job or factory there if they don’t go along with big cuts in wages and benefits and working standards — or just move the factory or company to take advantage of the differential. This benefits a wealthy few in the short term, and China in the long term after those wealthy few have sold the rest of out and cashed out for themselves.
This trade situation with China, while greatly enriching the top 1% here (and there), has hurt the rest of us so much, and drained so much wealth from the country, that even some Republicans are willing to support doing something about it. There are 61 Republican cosponsors of the bill to confront China over their currency manipulation!